In the dead of night, the Illinois Senate passed a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide in the Land of Lincoln.
At 3 AM on October 31, the Illinois Senate passed the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act (SB 1950) by the bare minimum of votes (30-27), sending it to Governor Jay Robert “JB” Pritzker for approval.
The Illinois House of Representatives previously approved SB 1950 in a 63-42 vote on May 29, after legislators unexpectedly gutted the text of an unrelated food-safety bill, replacing it with language legalizing physician-assisted suicide. According to the Illinois Family Institute, the move was “designed to bypass normal [legislative] scrutiny.”
If signed into law, SB 1950 would legalize physician-assisted suicide for adults who have a terminal disease with a prognosis of six months or less to live. The legislation requires two physicians confirm a patient’s terminal disease and prognosis, and their “mental capacity,” before the patient can be proscribed lethal drugs to kill themselves.
A patient’s attending physician must also inform them of the potential risks and benefits of administering a lethal drug; the benefits and risks of feasible alternatives including additional treatments options and palliative care; and their right to rescind the request at any time.
Gov. Pritzker hasn’t indicated whether he will sign the bill into law. However, the governor said he was “deeply” affected by the testimony of residents who wish to end their lives.
“I know how terrible it is that someone who’s in the last six months of their life could be experiencing terrible pain and anguish, and I know people who’ve gone through that,” Pritzker said.
“I know people whose family members have gone through that, and so it hits me deeply and makes me wonder about how we can alleviate the pain that they’re going through.”
Calvin Lindstrom, pastor of Church of Christian Liberty in Arlington Heights, expressed his disappointment with the Senate’s approval of the bill:
This proposal would legalize the abandonment of the desperate, dressing suicide as “dignity” while the state and conniving doctors wash their hands of the duty to protect life. My heart breaks for every soul in such pain that death seems the only door. May God’s people bring a witness of true hope in the face of death.
Bishop Thomas Paprocki, bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, denounced the Senate’s actions, saying, “It is quite fitting that the forces of the culture of death in the Illinois General Assembly passed physician-assisted suicide on Oct. 31 – a day that, culturally, has become synonymous with glorifying death and evil.”
“It’s also ironic that these pro-death legislators did it under the cloud of darkness at 2:54 a.m.” the bishop added. “Make no mistake: killing oneself is not dying with dignity.”
He continued,
Doctors take an oath to do no harm. Now, they can prescribe death. …
Physician-assisted suicide undermines the value of each person, especially the vulnerable, the poor, and those with disabilities. Pray for Gov. Pritzker to reject this legislation. Illinois should be a state that offers compassion, care, and hope — not death — as the answer to human suffering.
Likewise, the Illinois Catholic Conference said the Illinois General Assembly has “put our state on a slippery path that jeopardizes the well-being of the poor and marginalized.”
“Many lawmakers chose to ignore the real advances in palliative medical care as an alternative to assisted suicide. Rather than signing this bill, we ask the Governor to expand and improve on palliative care programs that offer expert assessment and management of pain and other symptoms.”
Eleven other states and Washington, D.C. have legalized physician-assisted suicide. Earlier this year, the New York Legislature passed a bill legalizing the practice, though Gov. Kathy Hochul has yet to indicate whether she will sign the legislation.
Patients who are suffering from illness and disease deserve real treatment and care – not a quick death disguised as compassion. Physician-assisted suicide always transforms patients, who deserve to be loved and reminded of their inestimable worth as human persons, into problems to solve.
Physician-assisted suicide always violates the Hippocratic Oath, individuals’ right to life, the dignity of the human person, and opens the door for hospitals and governments to decide whose life is worth living.
As the Illinois Family Institute advised, “Suicide is never the answer.” The organization is urging citizens of Illinois to take action in two ways:
- Please pray that the Lord would convict the heart of Gov. Pritzker and refuse to sign SB 1950 into law.
- You can click here to email Gov. Pritzker today urging him to veto SB 1950.
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Related articles and resources:
Counseling Consultation & Referrals
Understanding God’s Plan for the End of Life
Answers to Common Questions About Physician-Assisted Suicide
Aging Loved Ones and Physician-Assisted Suicide
NY Governor Kathy Hochul Must Veto ‘Nightmare’ Assisted Suicide Bill
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